In my regular chat with RNZ's Nine To Noon host Kathryn Ryan, we take a look at Apple's AirTags, which seem to have been inadvertently designed to be a stalker's best friend; a bug in Facebook's that amplified Russian propaganda for six months before being fixed; and a swarm of 300 drones that RickRolled Dallas on April Fool's Day...

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S10E02 News Special with Cheryl Mack and Mike Nicholls - Has a cash splash in the pre-election Federal Budget changed the landscape for startups? Is the global talent shortage creating runway problems? Are female founders finally getting their due? These are just some of the issues angel investor extraorinaire Cheryl Mack and VC 'Rescue' Mike Nicholls cover in TWISTA's news special.

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S10E01 Jason Calacanis gets psychic - “Mister Angel”, Jason Calacanis, joins TWISTA for our annual check-in. As we exit the pandemic, we review some of Jason’s predictions about the changing nature of work, then turn our attentions to startups – which now have a unique advantage in the contest for global talent.

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In my regular chat with RNZ's Nine To Noon host Kathryn Ryan, we take a look at whether Google search has begun to fail us - and what might replace it; what happens when your DNA gets converted to data and ends up in police databases; and finally, have Microsoft always been the 'Masters of the Metaverse'?

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IEEE Spectrum column November 2021 - Prices of 'unreal estate' - land that exists only in the metaverse - have recently skyrocketed. Is it our 21st century version of Tulipmania? Read my column here.

In my regular chat with RNZ's Nine To Noon host Kathryn Ryan, we discuss Mark Zuckerberg's announcement last week that Facebook would rebrand to Meta, to focus the direction of the company on the 'metaverse'.

Mark explains what the metaverse is, something he knows quite a bit about as the founder of one of the first virtual reality companies. He'll look at the single biggest change that's led to a decline in Facebook's revenue, and maybe forcing a change of direction on the company.

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IEEE Spectrum column November 2021 - If we technologists are going to build a metaverse, let's start with a mirror world: a high-fidelity reflection of the real world, in all of its richness, complexity, and unpredictability Read my column here.

S09E20 The Success Factors with Murray Hurps Part Two - TWISTA’s Series 9 review of what we’ve learned about success concludes with UTS Startups‘ Murray Hurps reflecting upon what we’ve learned about successful startup hires – and hacks. Plus, a big announcement about the future of TWISTA.

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S09E19 The Success Factors with Murray Hurps Part One - Every TWISTA series 9 guest shared insights on what makes a startup and a founder successful. UTS Startups‘ Murray Hurps joins us to review what we’ve learned about customer focus, self-knowledge, listening, communication – and resilience.

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S09E18 Ian Gardiner and Spark Festival - Ian Gardiner, one of the founders of Australia’s startup ecosystem, tells TWISTA how he identifies the hallmarks of success in startup founders – and in himself. Maxine Sherrin, director of Spark Festival, visits TWISTA with event hosts Adriana Belotti and Biliana Rajevic to spruik this year’s Australia-wide celebration of all things startup.

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In my regular chat with RNZ's Nine To Noon host Kathryn Ryan, we discuss how a shortage of semi-conductors is now making things worse for automakers, who were already being affected by the global shortage of computer chips. Facebook shareholders aren't happy with revelations that the company offered to pay a fine that was fifty times higher than what the US Federal Trade Commission was seeking over the Cambridge Analytica affair - all so Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg didn't have to testify. And a crypto-trading hamster has been found to make better trades than Warren Buffett and the S&P 500...

Then we had a super interesting conversation about the RBNZ plan to introduce a digital currency -- read about that here.

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S09E17 News Special - Startup ecosystem legends Petra Andren and Alan Jones join TWISTA to examine the Afterpay purchase (or is it a merger?) – and the largest philanthropic donation in Australian history. From a startup! All the news startups need in our final news special.

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IEEE Spectrum column October 2021 - A lot of our perfectly good devices hit the trash heap not because they've failed, but because they're no longer supported. That's unsafe, and wasteful. It's got to stop. Read my column here.

S09E16 Teamgage's Noelle and Ben Smit - You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Co-founders (and partners) Noelle and Ben Smit built SaaS firm Teamgage to make it easy for organisations to measure themselves – and improve. Does it work? And have they used their own tool to improve their chances for success?

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IEEE Spectrum column September 2021 - All our cloud services work to keep us swimming in our lanes - so we need to embrace a desire to ignore their advice, go off-piste, and go in search of the unexpected. Read my column here.

S09E15 Harvest B's Werner Fuggersberger, Kristi Riordan and Alfred Lo - Plant-based proteins could form as much as fifty-percent of our diets within the next thirty years, so there’s enormous opportunities for ‘foodtech’ startups to redesign global agricultural supply chains around the changing diet of a warming planet. Harvest B‘s founders have a vision – and a mission. Does that spell success?

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S09E14 CryptoSpend's Andrew Grech & Richard Voice - Fintech has mostly meant doing what banks do – but better, faster and cheaper. Cryptocurrencies live outside our banking and payments system – until now. CryptoSpend offers a VISA that allows users to BPAY with Bitcoin! Is this the future of payments?

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In my regular chat with RNZ's Nine To Noon host Kathryn Ryan, we discuss Apple's proposal to scan all photos uploaded to its iCloud service, looking for child abuse materials - and whether that opens a Pandora's box of snooping in your smartphone. Facebook banned researchers from NYU looking at the effects of political advertising - and used a privacy judgement from the US Federal Trade Commission as a fig leaf to cover their actions. Finally, an Australian court has ruled that artificial intelligence can be considered a 'person' for the purposes of patents!

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S09E13 AirTasker's Tim Fung - Tim Fung has charted a course to success – from plucky startup entrepreneur to newly listing AirTasker on the ASX. Why did he take his firm public — and how has it changed his startup? Along the way, what has Tim learned about success?

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S09E12 News Special - How are startups adapting to the in-and-out-and-in-again of pandemic lockdowns? Is Go1, Australia’s newest unicorn, on a growth path to be the next Canva? Microsoft for Startups’ Annie Parker and Main Sequence Ventures’ Phil Morle offer their insights – and their secrets for startup success. All the news important for startups!

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IEEE Spectrum column August 2021 - How will we cope with the growing electricity demands of cloud computing? It may require a deep rethink of the design of programs that we run within it. Read my column here.

S09E11 Success in Lockdown - From inside a pandemic lockdown of uncertain duration, how do Sydney’s startups operate – and thrive? We ask Tractor Ventures‘ Matt Allen for insights from Melbourne’s 111-day lockdown, then check in with Inspace CEO Justin Liang – who pivoted his startup during the first lockdown. Timely tips for all of Australia’s startup community.

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S09E10 EOFY with Damian Smyth & Alex Chisholm - EOFY means startups need to do their sums - and file for R&D tax credits, instant asset write-offs, and much more. TWISTA speaks with Swanson Reed's Damian Smyth & Alex Chisholm about how clever startups can document their way into big tax refunds - no profits required!

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IEEE Spectrum column July 2021 - Electric motors are useful, capable, ubiquitous - and nearly invisible. Recently they've come to the forefront, their tortoise to the internal-combustion hare. Guess who's winning the race? Read my column here.

In my regular chat with RNZ's Nine To Noon host Kathryn Ryan, we discuss the increasing sophistication of computers -- resulting in them producing random, unpredictable errors. Meanwhile, Android users in the US state of Massachusetts got their Covid app installed - whether they wanted it or not. Advertisers could soon be coming for you in your dreams, thanks to smart speakers! Finally, the inventor of the 'anode' used in all lithium batteries has now invented a faster way to charge electric vehicles.

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S09E09 Fingerprint for Success' Michelle Duval - Michelle Duval created Fingerprint for Success as a SaaS offering, leveraging what she’d learned as a career coach. Michelle shares her detailed studies of successful startup entrepreneurs – and tells us what we need to improve within ourselves to maximize our chances for success.

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IEEE Spectrum column June 2021 - Last year the world turned on a time, from office to remote work, somthing that could only happen because we were better prepared than we ever realised. Read my column here.

S09E08 Coviu's Silvia Pfeiffer - A pandemic-driven transition to telehealth meant Silvia Pfeiffer's Coviu grew massively over the last year. How does she balance growth against the ever-changing rules of Australia's Medicare system? And what has Silvia learned about building a succesful startup?

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S09E07 News Special - We've just seen a big-spending federal budget. What do Jelix VC CEO Andrea Gardiner and Carthona Capital partner Dean Dorrell reckon it all means for startups? Do we need a 'patent box' for deep tech? And what have both learned about why a startup succeeds?

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S09E06 VOW's George Peppou - George Peppou knew nothing about biotech when he co-founded VOW; he’s now well on his way to vat-growing meats that could feed billions around the world. Is biotech fundamentally different? How has VOW used the best bits of tech startups to accelerate their growth? Get the answers on this show.

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Preserving privacy is hard. I know because when I tried, I quickly learned not to play with weapons. We need to make sure we can continue to use encrypted messaging apps - because without privacy, we are easy pickings... Read it here.

In my regular chat with RNZ's Nine To Noon host Kathryn Ryan, we discuss the ruling by Facebook's Oversight Board to maintain the ban on Donald Trump - for now - then look at the NYPD taking its 'digidog' behind the shed. And finally, the 'Disaster Girl' meme has become a non-fungible token, which then sold for half a million dollars. No bubble there, eh?

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S09E05 Tractor Venture's Matt Allen - Matt Allen found a gap in the startup funding model. Now he’s driving Tractor Ventures through it, providing unsecured loans to startups with accelerating revenues. Are loans a better deal than selling shares? This episode is a must for every startup raising capital.

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S09E04 Tide's Michael Loewy - An epidemic of data leaks proves businesses need to rethink how they collect, store and operate on our personal data. TIDE co-founder and CEO Mike Loewy tells us what it takes to bring the best of blockchain – invisibly, and securely – to nearly every digital product and service.

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IEEE Spectrum column May 2021 - The recent power shortfalls in Texas exposed the need for better control. Read my column here.

Last year I was privileged to work with journalist Claire Aird and producer Josh Butt on the 'Criminal Domain' podcast - sponsored by Norton 360. It took a 'true crime' approach to the kinds of cyberthreats that all of us face every day, online. 'Criminal Domain' been nominated for best 'PR-led Content Creation' in the Mumbrella Comsconn Awards!

Countless people have signed away the right to have their trauma acknowledged through 'non-disparagement' clauses in employment contracts, and that has to stop. Now. Read it here.

S09E03 Oovvuu's Ricky Sutton - Ricky built Oovvuu into a successful media company by challenging the platform monopolies of Google and Facebook – offering an alternative, and beating them at their own game. He shares his secrets for success when going up against trillion-dollar companies!

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S09E02 News Special - We welcome back SheEO Country Lead Julie Trell and Main Squence GP Mike Nicholls to explore the post-pandemic landscape for startups, emerging funding models – and key elements for success.

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S09E01 Jason Calacanis - We kick off series 9 with a deep dive into the post-pandemic startup world – and the virtuous cycle of successful startups.

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IEEE Spectrum column April 2021 - Engineers developing drones or similar robotic helpers need to focus on mitigating the dangers. Read my column here.

In my regular chat with RNZ's Nine To Noon host Kathryn Ryan, we discuss the 'Code War' - the undeclared war between global powers battling for control and supremacy in the digital sphere. We also look at how Facebook conspicuously ignores the recommendations of its own 'Responsible AI' research group. And Amazon is 'gamifying' its warehouses, in order to make its workers more productive.

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We're losing 'The Code War' - with an exponential increase in the number of exploits and attacks against our hyperconnected systems. Blame is not enough - but what can we do? Read it here.

IEEE Spectrum column March 2021 - Inspired by a recent outage in the Service NSW COVIDsafe check-in feature, I take a look at whether we're really designing our networked world for that in-between state of connectivity, where the network is sometimes there - and sometimes not. Have a read.

ABC Radio National 'Life Matters' -- Many of us learned just how dependent we are on Facebook for news and information when we all woke up to blocks on our favourite pages.

How has Facebook's recent action affected how you get your news and information?

I'm joined by the amazing Margaret Simons. Listen here.

Triple J 'Hack' 18 February 2021 -- Facebook has cut off all news content to Australian users, as it ramps up its beef with the Federal Government. The Govt wants the big tech company to pay for sharing Australian news content, and they aren't keen.

So how did we get to this point? And how come a lot of other government and community-run pages have been caught in the fray?

Have a listen here.

My latest column for The Register asks whether Google's threat to pull its search products from Australia might not be a blessing in disguise. Read it here.

In my regular chat with RNZ's Nine To Noon host Kathryn Ryan, we discuss the ramifications of Jeff Bezos stepping down as the CEO of Amazon, the anti-trust lawsuit Facebook has filed against Apple -- and why you should think twice about your internet-connected chastity belt. (That last bit is _slightly_ NSFW, but very funny.)

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